Revolving-hook sewing-machine.



V d. WINKEL. N REVOLVING HOOK SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 21, 1903. v ,7 I Patented Jan. 7, 1913. r

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0. WINKEL-. I REVOLVING HOOK SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEG 21 1903.

Patented Jan.7, 1913.

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UL W'I'NKEL. REVQLYING HOOK szwnf MACHINE. A-PPLIMT'ION rILnnnno. 21,1903. 1,049,791.

v outrun STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER WINKEL, OF BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL SEWINGMACHINE COMPANY, OF BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

REVOLVING-HOOK SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 21, 1903. Serial No. 185,976.

' Patented. Jan. 7,1913.

Toall whom it may concern Be it known that LCHms'rorHnR VVINKE'L,

a citizen of the United States, residing at.

Belvidere, in thecounty of'Boone and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Revolving-Hook Sewing-Machines,of which the following I is a full, clear, and exact specification.

' My invention relates to that class of sewing entangled with the hookmechanism 20' should the operator fail to arrange it properly whenstarting to sew or rotate the machine in the 'wrong direction. A seriousand well'known objection to this forinof sewing machines is that. thehook produces a twist in the loop, -which often results inthe formationof knots or snarls when the take up actsto tighten the loop or the loopis drawn upward by any other means, This invention is designed to avoidthis defect,

and it therefore has for its further object to untwist the loop beforeit is drawn up or tightened. In this form of machine, the lower thread,where it passes from the tension device of the bobbin to the passage inthe throat plate, ordinarily extends at an oblique anglewhile under' thetension of the bobbin, and the loop of upper thread, in the act of beingdrawn up, has to force its way between the throat plate and thistautlower thread, and this results in great friction on the upper thread,often causing it to break, and in any event making the stitching tightor loose according to the speed, and resulting in uneven sewing. v Toovercome this defect, this invention has for one of its ob ects tounwind sufficient slack of the lower thread, before the loop is drawnup, to relieve the same of undue strain at such time, and hence avoidundue friction on the upper-thread. And this invention has for itsobject generally to combine all the advantages of both the revolvinghook and the rotary shuttle forms of sewing machines withpractically allof their disadvantages and objectionable features eliminated.

VVit-h these ends in view, my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination: and arrangement of pa-rtsbywhich the said objects and cer-- tain other objects hereinafterappearing are attained, all as fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawingsFigure 1 is a front elevation of a part of a sewingmachine head provided with these improvements. Fig. 2 is a bottom viewthereof. Figs. 3 to 9, inclusive, are details of the rotary hook,

the bobbin and the bobbin case, Fig. 3 being a cross section of theflange and crank plate which connects the shaft to the hook, Fig. 4 across section of the bearing ring, for the hook, Fig. 5 a. side or edgeelevation of one part of the hook proper in which the bobbin case cavityis formed, Fig. ca side elevation of the bobbin case and its supportwith the parts separated, Fig. 7 a side or edge elevation of the capwhich holds the bobbin case support in the hook cavity, Fig. 8 a frontelevation of the member shown in Fig. 5,

and Fig. 9 a front elevation of the member shown on the left in Fig. 6.Fig. 10 is a top or plan view of the parts assembled, the sewing machinebed plate being removed. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the parts shownin F igs. 3 to 7 assembled with the removable partof the bobbin caseomitted, also showing the point of the hook in'the act of carrying theloop around the bobbin case. Fig. 12 is a similar view, showing thepoint of the hook still fa'rther advanced with the loop. Fig. 13 is avertical cross section on the line l313,-Fig.' 12. Fig. 14: is avertical section of all of the parts.- shown in Figs. 3 to 9, assembledand with the bobbin in place. Fig. 14 is an enlarged detail elevation,showing the arrangement of the thread with relation to the bobbin, andalso thread seat or notch in the bobbin ca-se support. Fig. 18 is avertical section of the construction illustrated in Fig. 17. Fig. 19

is'a View showing the point of the hookstill farther advanced andproducing the twist in the loop, this view being taken from the side ofthe machine toward which the hook rotates, on the side opposite theoperator.

from the start, showing how the finger untwists the loop.

- 1 is the bed plate of the sewing machine head, 2 the needle, 3' thethroat plate through which the needle passes, and t the upper or needlethread, all of which may be of the usual or any suitable construction,the feed, which may be of any ordinary or desirable form, being omittedfor the sake of clearness and as it constitutes no part of the presentinvention.

5 is the rotary shaft, which may be driven in any suitable way andmounted under the bed plate 1 in the usual or any suitable bearings, notnecessary to illustrate, and contiguous to the end of this shaft isarranged a wall or plate 6, which extends downwardly from the under sideof the bed plate 1 in a vertical plane, or a plane at right angles tothe shaft 5, and to the end that it may be firmly secured and closelyfitted to the under side of the bed plate it is provided with lugs 7 oneach side through whichpass screws,

or other attaching devices, 8, threaded in,

bosses 9 on the under side of the bed plate 1. This plate 6 is in theform of a ring and its upper side is cut away on the chord of a circlewhere it meets and contacts'with the lower side of the throat plate 3,as better shown in Fig. 1, it beingextended upwardly between theopposite ends of the bosses 9 so as to fit accurately against the throatplate 3, and thereby constitute a complete wall or barrier to preventthe thread from being carried to its inner side and wound around orentangled with the shaft 5, or parts con nected therewith. The plate 6is recessed in 'its outer face as more clearly shown in Fig.

is of greater diameter than the inner periphery of the ring 10, so thatthe ring 10 will constitute a flange projecting over the edge of thisopening 11, as shown in Fig. 20, and within the ring 10 is arranged ajournal 12 formed on the body portion 13 of the rotary hook, which willpresently be described more in detail. The back of this body portion 13fits accurately against the face of ring 10, while the end of thejournal 12 comes flush, or substantially flush, with the inner face ofthe ring 10, and secured thereto is a ring 14 which overlaps the ring 10and thereby constitutes a means of holding the journal 12 againstmovement in a direction lengthwise of its axis while permitting thejournal 12 to revolve freely within its journal bearing constituted bythe inner periphery of the ring 10. The body 13 of the hook may be thusrevolved in its independent hearing by the aid of any suitableconnection with the shaft 5; for example, the end of the shaft may-beprovided with a slotted crank arm 15 in the slot of which engages awrist 16 secured to the ring 14, or to any other connection on the body13, so that as the shaft revolves the body of the hook will be rotatedaccordingly, but this peculiar form of connection will not be describedin detail herein as it constitutes the subject-matter of a co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 189,397, filed January 18th, 1904.

As more clearly illustrated in Fig. 5, the' body portion 13 of thehookis given the form of a truncated cone at its outer end, and the extremesmaller end of this truncated cone portion is formed with a projection17 whose outer edge is parallel with the end of the cone and which isbounded at one end by an abrupt shoulder 18 and at the iother by a slot19 whichextends .inwardly toward the base of the cone, so as toconstitute the point 20 of the hook proper at one extremity of theprojection 17 and the outer end of the slot 19, and the throat 21 at theinner end of said slot, the surface of the projection 17 constituting acontinuation of the side of the truncated cone. The body portion 13 isformedwith a cavity 22 for the reception of a bobbin case support 23 andbobbin case proper, 24, and the surrounding wall of this cavity 22 inthe outer edge thereof contiguous to the outer end of the truncated coneis rabbeted or formed with a groove 25 for the reception of an annularcircumferential flange 26 formed on bobbin case support 23, thus givingthe bobbin case a support and journal bearing within the body 13 of thehook and holding the case rigidly against lateral movement lengthwise ofthe axis of rotation of the hook in one direction. It is held againstlateral movement in the opposite direction by an inwardly projectingannular flange 27 formed on the outer end of a cap 28, shown in detailin as the shoulder 18, so that the outer edge of the projection 17 whichtogether'with point 2O constitutes the hook proper, will be'flush with'the outer vertical surface of the flange 27, leaving no obstruction forthe thread to r catch upon, but where the projection 17 oocurs theflange 27 is omitted or cut away and it does not begin again inthecircle until the'point 30 is reached, but the'inner edge orcircumference-of the projection 17, 20 is" provided with a flange 31which overlaps the flange 26 and constitutes a continuation of theflange 27, and between the slot 19 and the point 30 the edge'of the cap-28"is cut away to form the needle clearance 32, and

' one end of this needle clearance is formed on an oblique shoulder 33which extends inwardly from the shoulder 18 to the inner end of the slot19 and from the inner end of the shoulder 33 the cut iscarried outwardlyalong the bottom edge of slot 19, as shown at 34,'so as to avoidcovering the slot. :The

l shoulder 33 is roundedfor eased ofi' toward the surface of the hookproper, 17 20, as

better shown at 35, in Fig. 19, so .asto avoid the possibility of unduefriction on abrasion of the inner strand 36 of the thread.

The cavity 22 in the, body of the hook is sufiiciently larger than theinner side'of the bobbin case support 23 to afiord ampleroom for. thepassage" of the thread between said support and the body of the hookwithout danger of pinching. or abrading the thread.

or compelling the thread to force any of the parts aside to enforce itspassage between them,-and the upper side ofthe flange 26 is cut away toform a notch or thread seat con.-

stituted by two shoulder 37,38, the former of'which at least is roundedto avoid abrading the thread, and between which shoulders the needlethread passes, as clearly shownin v Figs. 17, 19 and 20, and this loopwhich is caught by the hook proper, 17,20, is gradually forced into thethroat 21am! carried downwardly in the manner indicated in Figs. .16,1-7 and 19, andfo-rced over and around the bobbin case support 23, whoseinner side ouhack is also tapered or of truncated cone shape toencourage the passage of the thread thereover, and by'thus continuingaround the under side of the botbin case support while in the throat 21it willbe'secn that it completely encompasses said support after beingfinally drawn up by the takeup, or other suitable means, without having.forced its passage by pushing any of the parts aside on coininginto'abrasivecon tact with any'ofthe mechanism or lubricated surfaces.

The bobbin case'support 23 is held against able means, but preferably bymeans of a rotation with the hook 13, 17', by any suitcurved finger,which will now be described, h and which serves the twofold purpose ofthus holding the-bobbin case support and of removing the twist from theloop, which is the inevitable result of passing the loop around thebobbin case. shown in the form of a curved horn which is, formed on theouter side of .bobbin case support- 23 near the top and conjoins withThis finger. is

said member 23 by an easy curve or incline. 39, so as to avoid catchingthethread, and

it thence curves inwardly to fornr a C- shap'ed finger 40, it beingcurved upwardly as well as inwardly from itsstarting point on the member23, and the extremity of thisfinger 40,which is tapered, terminatescontiguous to a passage 41 formed in the top of member 23 for theneedle, this passage being located at the outer side of the flange 26 ina lip or overhang 42 on the top of the member 23, and which is easedofi' gradually until it meets the main portion of said member 23 so asto avoid catching the thread, the point of the finger 40 being situatedconsiderably above this lip 42, as shown in Fig. 20. When the point 200f the .hook catches the'loop and carries it down-.

wardly, as better shown in Fig. 19, the inclination of theslot 19carries one side of the loop inwardly to the back. of the bobbin casesupport 23 and the conical formation of the surface of the hook,producing the shedding action on the other side or fold of the loop,carries the latter outwardly, and

consequently puts a twist or half turn in the loop, but as the loop isdrawn upwardly j around the under side of the bobbin case support andpulled away from the hook 20,

,it slides over the curved horn or finger 39.,

40, and it is readily seen that this finger acts to bring that side ofthe loop which was I behind. the bobbin case support, outwardly to thefront, and beforeit leaves the point of the horn or finger 40 it isturned completely aroundfto the position which is for 'merlyoccupiedbefore the hook entered it,

and consequently is untwisted. (See Figs.

20,21.) To utilize thehorn or finger 39, 40,-

for preventing the rotation Tof the bobbin case support it is simplynecessary to provide a yoke or stop which engages loosely around thefinger with suflicient play to allow the loop to'pass freely over thelatter,

This yoke or stop' is in theform of a bar 43, which is better .shown inFig; 1, and is curved upwardly across :the front side of the bobbincase, and, as shown in Fig. 2,

has an out-ward bend or cove, 44, in which the finger is situated. Thisbar 43 is held in place by two screws or other means, 45, 46, which arethreaded in the ring 6, and in' order that they may also serve as ameans -of holding the bearing ring- 10 in place,

they are provided with shoulders which overlap the edges of this bearingring. These shoulders are shown as being constituted by sleeves 47,through which the screws are inserted and which serve the further usefulpurpose of holding the bar 43 outward away from the bobbin case.

The bobbin case support 23 is in theform of an annular shell open at thefront, but which may or may not be closed at the back. In this exampleof the invention it is shown as being provided at the back with a merecross bar or web 48 to close the back of the bobbin case proper 24L,and'its interior is adapted to receive the said case 24, which carriesthe bobbin 49 of any suitable construction, or, in fact, whichcarriesany other suitable form of supply of lower thread. In thisexample, the bobbin is of the rotary or spool form and journaled upon apin 50 secured centrally within the bobbin case member 24, which is ofcup-formation open at its inner end or side, so that when inserted intobobbin case support 23 the bobbin will be completely housed and will beheld against displacement inwardly by the cross bar or web 48. Thebobbin case member 24 shown in this exemplification' of the invention isof peculiar form, but does not concern the present invention and will bedescribed herein only generally as it constitutes the subject matter ofthe claims of a co-pending application, Serial No. 186,594, issuedSeptember 21st, 1909, No. 934,869, and, indeed, so far as the presentinvention is concerned, is desirable rather than necessary. One side ofthe bobbin case member 24 is cut away, as shown at 51., Fig. 15, to formclearance for the thread and needle, and the end wall of the'caseopposite this cutaway 51* is forced outwardly to form a tongue 52,against which lies a tension spring 53 of any suitable form, the tongue52 having a slot 54: for the passage ofthe thread from the bobbin,whence the thread passes between the tongue and spring 53 and emergesthrough notch 55 in the end of the spring, and thence passes upwardlywithin the curl of the horn or finger 40 and through the throat plate.The spring 53 is held in place by a tension adjustingscrew 56 screwedinto the outer end of the bobbin case 24 and the spring is held againstrotation by two branches 57 having their ends slightly countersunk inthe face of the case 24.

The bobbin case member 24 is locked in member 23 by a pivoted latch 58having a projection 59 extending through the side of the bobbin case 24-and adapted to engage in a'slot 60 in the inner wall of bobbin casesupport 23, the case member 24 having an aperture 61 through whichemerges a projection 62, by which the bolt or latch 58 is operated.

63 is a guide or projection on case member 24 adapted to be received ina notch 64 in the outer end of case member 23, thus compelling the partsto go together properly.

Although the bobbin tension is arranged against the outer face of thebobbin case, and therefore affords a straight run for the bobbin threadupwardly, the upper thread is nevertheless subject to considerableabrasion vwhere it passesbetween the throat plate and the lower'thread,and is then subjected to considerable strain, especially under highspeed, when the takeup acts to pull it through the throat plate. Inorder to avoid this objectionable strain and possible breaking of theupper thread, the bobbin is caused to pay out sufficient slack of thelower thread to allow the takeup to pull the upper thread without anyresistance, or any material resistance, from the bobbin thread. This isaccomplished by journaling the bobbin case eccentric to the journal ofthe hook, sothat the bobbin case will be given a bodily rising andfalling 9, inclusive, and -it is provided for by simply making thejournal bearing for flange .26 eccentric to the journal bearing for theournal 12, or'eccentric to the center of the.

interior periphery of ring 10. In this example of the invention thehookis adapted torevolve from the operator, and with the invention thusdescribed it will be seen that as. the needle comes down and throws outa loop of the needle thread on its inner side, the hook 20 enters saidloop and carries it away from the operator and outwardly over and aroundthe other side of the bobbin case support 23 the lower half or fold 36of the loop being first pulled inwardly under the hook 17, 20, andacross the end of the shoulder 37, while the outside half or strand 36of the loop is carried backwardly by the inclined slot 19 toward theback of the bobbin case support 23, at the ,oint where it passes throughthe throat 21, ut farther up the thread is forced outwardly, as shown inFig. 19, by the shedding action of the conical hook 1'7, 20, and cap 28.This strand or half 36 of the loop at the commencement or time that .thehook 20 first enters the loop, is what might 'be termed the inner sideor strand of the loop, but as the hook 20 continues to revolve and thisside 36 is shed outwardly away from the needle it finally movedsubsequently by the curved horn or finger 39, 40, as before described,as the loop comesup the near side and is pulled away from the hook 20 bythe takeup, or other" means, in the manner shown in Figs. 20, 21, thehook 20 being revolved at its slowest speed at this time, which isaccomplished in the ordinary manner (not shown) and in a manner usualwith sewing machines of this character. It will also be seen that thepresence of the wall or plate 6 and the-close relation of the .back ofthe hook body 13 to said wall,.or parts connected with the wall,absolutely preclude the possibility of either of the threads becomingwound around the shaft 5, or any parts connected therewith, or with thehook, and'there' is nothing at the front side of said plate or wall thatcould act in any way to catch and entangle either thread, and this istrue, even though the machine be rotated in the wrong direction or beoperated without goods under the needle/ Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new therein and deslre to secure by LettersPatent is: j

2. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of means for-holding thesupply of lower thread, means for throwing out a loop of the needlethread, means for tak ing the inner side or fold of said loop downwardand outward around said supply, means for thereafter drawing said loopupward and means for throwing the then Y inner or originally outer sideof said 1'00 outwa'rd to untwist it as it i's-drawn upwar 3. In a rotarysewing machine, the combination of means for'holding the supply of lowerthread, means for throwing out a 100 of theneedle thread, means fortaking said loop around the said supply and imparting a turn or twistthereto, an in-turned finger and means for-drawing the loop-over saidfinger for removing saidtwist. therefrom:

. 45. In a rotary sewing machine, the combinatioi i' of means forholding the supply of lower thread, means for throwing out a loop of theneedle thread, means for taking said loop around the said supply andimparting a turn or twist thereto, an in-turned curved hook-shapedfinger and means for drawing the loop over said finger for removing saidtwist therefrom,

5. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a support for a supplyof lower thread, means for throwing out a loop of the needle thread,means for taking the said loop downward and shedding the inner foldthereof .outward. around said support, means for thereafter'drawing theloop upward and an inturned finger over which the loop is drawn upwardfor removing thetwist therefrom, said finger also serving to hold saidsupport against rotation.

6. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a support for a supplyof lower thread, means for throwing out a loop of the needle thread,means for taking said loop downward and shedding the inner fold thereofoutward around said support, means forthereafter drawing the loop upwardand a finger on said support curved outwardly therefrom and thenceinwardly over the'edge thereof for untwisting said loop as it is drawnupward.

7. In a. rotary sewing machine, the combi- 8. In a rotary sewingmachine, the combination of a thread case, a rotary hook, and

a journal bearing therefor, a non 'rotary lower thread case supporthaving'a pro ect-- ing flange constituting a ournal for said case and abearing-in said hook for said-support journal arranged eccentric to thesaid journal bearing of the hook.

9. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a hook supportcomprising'a fixed apertured plate, a hook-having a journal situated inthe aperture of said plate, a flange removably secured to one end ofsaid journal and overlapping the back of said plate for holding saidhook in place, and

means operatively connected with said journal for rotating said hook.

10. In 'a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a hook support,comprising a fixed apertured plate, a hook fitted closely to the face ofsaid plate and. having a journal fitting in the aperture-thereof, thebody of the hook overlapping the plate to close the space between theedge of the plate and the journal, a flange secured to the end of saidjournal directly engaging and over-' lapping the back of said plate forholding said journal against axial movement, a shaft for rotating thehook and an operative conne lztion between the shaft'and the said journa11. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a' hook supportcomprising a fixed plate or wall having an aperture therethrough and acountersink in the face thereof, and a 'second plate seated in saidcountersink and having an aperture constituting a journal bearing, ahook fitted immediately against theface. of said second plate and havinga journal arranged in the aperture thereof, a removable flange fittedagainst the back of said second plate and secured to said journal, alower thread case around which said hook revolves, and means holdingsaid second plate in said countersink and also. holding said thread caseagainst rotation.

12. In a rotary sewing machine the com-, bination with a hook shaft anda revolving hook, of a hook support in which the hook is journaledindependently of the shaft, an

operative connection between said shaft and hook, and a fixed continuouswall interposed between the back of the hook and the shaft and saidoperative connection.

13. In a rotary sewing machine the combination of means for holding thesupply of lower thread, means for throwing out a loop of the upper orneedle thread, a re volving hook for taking said loop around said supplyof lower thread and imparting a turn or twist thereto, and means forsubsequently untwisting said loop.

14. In a rotary sewing machine, the combination of a hook supportcomprising a fixed apertured plate, a hook having a body portionprovided with a reduced extremity to form a circumferential shoulder,said reduced portion being journaledin the aperture with the shoulderadjacent one face of the plate, the extremity of the reduced portionbeing substantially flush with the other face of the plate, a flangeremov-ably secured to the extremity and overlapping the said other faceof the plate, and means operatively connected to the said reducedportion for rotating the hook.

15. In a rotary sewing machine, the 001m bination of a hook supportcomprising a fixed apertured plate, a hook having a body portionprovided with a reduced extremity to form a circumferential shoulder,said reduced portion being journaled in the aperture with the shoulderadjacent one face, of theplate, the extremity of the reduced portionbeing substantially flush with the other face of the plate, a flangeremovably selcured to the extremity and overlapping the said other faceof the plate,'a crank pin carried by the flange, and a crank looselyengaging the pin for rotating the hook.

' CHRISTOPHER VVINKEL. Witnesses:

F. P. ELDREDGE,

WILLIS S. BROWN.

